Facebook's data deals continue to be probed. A criminal investigation of Facebook by federal prosecutors in New York has resulted in records being subpoenaed "from at least two prominent makers of smartphones and other devices," the New York Times reports.

Although organizations need to worry about phishing, malware and other inbound threats, they also must be aware that social media accounts pose an increasing risk - and they need to be monitored and locked down, says Otavio Freire of SafeGuard Cyber.

Facebook's effort to stem the flow of fake news globally has been ineffective, allege some fact checkers who have collaborated with the social media giant to identify and debunk false stories. Is the social media giant merely conducting a public relations exercise?

Why are we surprised about the amount and sensitivity of data that mobile apps collect? The online industry has never been forthright about it. That's why we're faced with a yawning gap between user expectations and true privacy. And it's why Facebook, Google, Apple and others have many questions to answer.

Facebook says it will soon issue a patch for a bug in its WhatsApp messenger application that can circumvent a security feature launched just last month for Apple devices. The flaw could let someone with physical access to a device bypass Face ID and Touch ID.

Technology giants stand accused by a U.K. parliamentary committee of risking democracy in pursuit of profit, acting as monopolies and blocking attempts to hold them accountable. But Parliament's probe into disinformation and "fake news" reserves special scorn for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

A security consultancy discovered Facebook user data exposed in two different places online without authentication or encryption. The data, which is now offline, came from an Android app that purported to offer statistical information to logged-in users.

The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly negotiating a settlement with Facebook that includes a multibillion dollar fine for its privacy failures. But the social network is alarmed about the proposed settlement agreement's terms and conditions, The Washington Post reports.

Apple's conflict with Facebook this week resulted in the most effective and quickest punishment the social network has ever received over a privacy issue. But should a multi-billion dollar tech company like Apple be picking up the slack for the digital privacy enforcement failures of governments?

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is close to concluding its investigation into Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Washington Post reports, noting that the social network may face a record-setting fine, exceeding the $22.5 million fine the FTC in 2012 slammed on Google.

Facebook has removed hundreds of accounts, alleging that the account creators misrepresented their identity. The social network alleges that some of the accounts were surreptitiously created by employees of the state-owned Sputnik news agency in Moscow, which Sputnik disputes.

The Trump administration has launched a public awareness campaign, spearheaded by the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, urging the U.S. private sector to better defend itself against nation-state hackers and others who may be trying to steal their sensitive data or wage supply chain attacks.